Answers to Five Common Coffee Questions

May 03, 2018

Want to know more than your friends about coffee? Do you also want to impress them with your coffee knowledge? We have taken five common, frequented asked questions about coffee and answered them for you.

1. Which coffee has the most caffeine?

Arabica coffee, which is what most of us drink in the United States. It has less caffeine than Robusta coffee, which is mostly drank in other parts of the world and is in most instant coffee. Studies have shown that Arabica coffee has about half of the caffeine, assuming the same quantities, as Robusta coffee.

While many think that dark roasted coffee has more caffeine, it is actually lighter roasted coffees which have more caffeine. During the roasting process, caffeine is lost, so the longer the roasting process last, the more caffeine is lost Basically, take the same coffee, roast some light and some dark, the lighter roasted version will have more caffeine.

How you brew your coffee will also affect the amount of caffeine in your drink. Typically, the longer the coffee is touching water (aka being extracted), the more caffeine which will ultimately end up in your drink.

In terms of caffeine…

Drip Machine > French Press > Pour Over > Espresso

Many assume that caffeine in espresso is more, but it isn’t when comparing one ounce of espresso to eight ounces of drip coffee. The espresso is just more concentrated.

2. Does decaf coffee still have caffeine?

The short answer is yes, but not very much. The FDA requires that for a coffee to be considered decaf, it must have 97% less caffeine than the same coffee, which isn’t decaffeinated.

While this is what the FDA says, coffee doesn’t require a label indicating how much caffeine is in it. It really comes down to which bean you are trying to decaffeinate. Choosing a bean, like Robusta, which has naturally high caffeine than Arabica, would leave you with decaf coffee which has more caffeine than an Arabica decaf.

3. Does coffee make you need to go number two?

[insert poop joke here]

Well, the answer is yes, but it depends on your sensitivity and tolerance of caffeine.

Caffeine has been found to stimulate contractions in the large intestine, which are very similar to the ones that occur after you eat a large meal. The amount of caffeine you consume dictates the strength of these contractions. Also, those who are sensitive to caffeine are more likely to experience these effects.

So… the more coffee you drink, the more you poop 😊

4. What is the most expensive coffee in the world?

[insert another poop joke here]

I am not making this up. The most expensive coffee in the world is called Kopi Luwak, and it costs up to several hundred dollars a pound.

Kopi Luwak is produced when a furry Civet, which roams on Sumatran coffee plantations eats the coffee cherries from a coffee plant. The Civet digests the coffee cherry, but its stomach is unable to digest the coffee bean. The coffee bean is fermented in the Civet’s stomach and eventually, like most things we eat, pooped out. Farmers collect the coffee bean droppings and sell them.

I have been told Kpoi Luwak makes a create chocolatey (not kidding) and is void of any bitterness.

I will just take their word for it.

5. What exactly is an espresso?

Espresso, not expresso, is a type of coffee preparation where hot water is forced under pressure through a puck of finely ground coffee, to extract the essence of the coffee in small volume. Espresso can come in a single shot which is one fluid ounce, or double shot which is two fluid ounces. Typically, shots of espresso take about 30 seconds once the extraction process has started.

Espresso can be enjoyed straight, but many times, it is the base in drinks like latte’s. Espresso is probably the most difficult coffee brewing method to master due to the small window between under/over extraction.

Espresso machines range in price from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Another way to make espresso is to use a Moka Pot, but true espresso fanatics wouldn’t consider this a true espresso.